From the time the Pilgrims arrived on American soil, faith in God played an important part in shaping our nation. Images of Moses adorn the Supreme Court in recognition of the Judeo-Christian origin of our laws. But it was Taxes, loss of Liberty and oppression from a mad king that led our Founding Fathers to write The Declaration of Independence and start The American Revolution. Today, those who stand for these ideals no longer call themselves The Silent Majority because we are silent no more.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

I have written several posts in the past year about my objections to The Patriot Act and my opinions have never changed. The government of a nation founded upon freedom and liberty, a country that acknowledges our God-given rights, should never have allowed 19 Muslim terrorists, who committed a despicable act on 9-11, to strip away the rights granted to Americans in the first ten amendments of our constitution. Yet without even a debate that is exactly what our government did in the months after those four airliners were hijacked. To continue to allow Americans to be denied their rights would be to give another victory to those who attacked us.

Now The Patriot Act is up for another extension but this time Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has guaranteed that a debate and a formal vote on this act will take place. Here are two email notices that I received this evening. The first is from Senator Paul and the second is from John Tate, president of the Campaign For Liberty.

In the coming weeks, something historic is going to happen in Congress. And with your help, it could provide a meaningful victory for the cause of Liberty. As you know, recently, I stopped what would have been certain Senate passage of a 3-year extension of parts of the Patriot Act. And as you also know, this is our best chance since its passage in 2001 to take back our rights from an out of control government. The Patriot Act was originally passed with almost no debate or real consideration. It has been extended in subsequent years by voice vote and with little protest. But in the coming weeks, the U.S. Senate will devote at least one full week of time to the Patriot Act, with debate, amendments, and, our best hope, the public spotlight. You see, there’s a reason the state has avoided debate over the Patriot Act: they know that Americans do not want their liberties taken from them. So please read the email below from my friend John Tate, president of Campaign for Liberty. The letter will tell you more about this urgent battle and what you can do to help. I’ll be standing up for freedom in the coming weeks in the U.S. Senate, and I hope you’ll join Campaign for Liberty as it leads the fight on the grassroots level. In Liberty, Rand Paul, MD United States Senator

Politicians taking away your liberty is not Patriotic.

Patriotism does not mean allowing the federal government to ransack your life whenever it feels like it.

In fact, what you and I clearly need is protection from a runaway, out of control, abusive government.

That's why the badly misnamed "Patriot" Act is not the Act of Patriots.

It is the act of petty bureaucrats seeking more and more power and control over not only our country, but every aspect of our lives.

For 10 years now, the so-called "Patriot" Act has been eroding our freedom and growing the federal government into a surveillance state.

And year after year, it gets renewed, almost always without a fight.

But this year is different.

In early February, the U.S. Senate tried to ram through a THREE-YEAR extension of expiring provisions of the Patriot Act.

Even worse, they tried to slip it through without a vote, as they've done in previous years.

Thankfully, the work of Liberty activists like you paid off - newly elected Senator Rand Paul stood up and said "STOP."

They were only allowed to pass a 90-day extension, and within the 90 days, there is to be a full week of debate and Amendments on the Senate floor.

So in ninety days, the statists will have to go on the record for or against the Bill of Rights.

And I'm for making a stir to bring attention to their actions. A BIG STIR.

How about you?

If you agree, I'm asking you to IMMEDIATELY put the heat on your senators.

TODAY. There isn't a moment to lose.

This is our chance to show why the Patriot Act is UNPATRIOTIC. But you and I must act immediately.

We've all heard the defenses. How the Patriot Act was needed to combat "terrorism." How it would not be used against U.S. citizens.

How it would not be abused.

These lies have all been clearly exposed. For 10 years, the American people have ignored the wisdom of our Founding Fathers and traded freedom for a false sense of security. As predicted, both are worse off as a result.

And now, the statists in Congress and the White House are set to reauthorize the so-called "Patriot" Act.

For years, even talk about a window-dressing "reform" bill has gone nowhere.

The Mainstream Media, fixated on Obama, won't report on how the Patriot Act has run roughshod over our liberties.

Frankly, you and I know the Patriot Act should be completely scrapped to block federal snoops from casting fishing nets over the lives, histories, and data of hardworking Americans.

But unless you and I act today, this won't happen, and the Patriot Act will be reauthorized, maybe for another 3 years. Maybe permanently.

The weak link for the snoop-state insiders remains the U.S. Senate - where one Big Government boondoggle after another has been bottled up or defeated.

But my contacts in the Senate say right now there's a growing chorus of opposition to the Patriot Act being heard.

They say some are willing to fight. Some even admit privately it was a mistake supporting it the first time when President Bush demanded it in the wake of the outrage following the 9/11 attacks.

And, of course, Senator Paul has already thrown down the gauntlet and said he will lead this fight.

But not enough senators will stand up and take this battle head on unless there is a shout of opposition from the American people.

If not, we'll see a whole lot more of what we've witnessed over the last 10 years:

*** Federal and State law enforcement on fishing expeditions, searching telephone, email, medical, financial, and other records looking for a needle in a haystack - and abridging the freedom of law-abiding citizens everywhere;

*** Broad new powers for the Treasury Department and Immigration Department to rewrite regulations, access records, and conduct proceedings in secret;

*** Holding American citizens without their constitutional rights simply because someone in the government has declared them an "enemy combatant";

*** Vast amounts of electronic data on virtually every American swept up by insider arrangements and purchases from phone companies, airlines, and other businesses afraid to say no to a government "request."

As you well know, this isn't some conspiracy theory. This is happening. Every day.

And you and I can help put an end to it.

One of the most egregious abuses of the Constitution, using the Patriot Act as its basis, is so-called "National Security letters," used commonly by the FBI.

It has been estimated that the FBI has used these NSLs - which allow access to records WITHOUT any court or search warrant - at least 200,000 times since 2001.

Just one example, noted in BusinessWeek in 2005, showed that the FBI had issued tens of thousands of NSLs and had obtained one million financial, credit, employment, and health records from the customers of targeted Las Vegas businesses.

Our federal government is out of control. We see it attempting to abridge our 1st amendment rights.

We know it would take away our 2nd amendment rights in a heartbeat if it could, and we remain vigilant to this threat.

It is spending us and our children into poverty, with crushing trillion dollar deficits.

And it is allowing the out of control Fed to ruin the dollar and push forward toward the collapse of our currency and way of life.

And more and more liberty-minded Americans are rising up to shout "stop."

That's why now is the moment to take back our freedoms from the statists and power-hungry federal thugs who use the Patriot Act to dig into every aspect of our lives under the pretense of making us safer.

Campaign for Liberty has a 3-point plan to get as many senators as possible to vote against the Patriot Act.

Remember, as long as Rand Paul holds firm, the statists MUST get 60 votes to break his filibuster, so this is a fight we CAN WIN:

** Your Petitions, and hundreds of thousands like them, will be delivered to the Senate, showing the tidal wave of opposition to the Patriot Act.

** Editorials and Op-Eds across the country to help swing the tide of public opinion to oppose this dangerous abuse of power.

** TV, internet, and Radio Ads in targeted states.

Because of the work of our friend, Senator Paul, Patriot Act extension already became enough of a hot potato that the Senate could only muster a 90-day extension.

Well, I think it's time for the rest of them to hear us loud and clear.

Electronic Frontier Foundation

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About Me

My name is Nelson Abdullah. I am 77-years old and after 40 years of working for two major airlines, I retired 15 years ago in 2002, a few months after the 9-11 attack on America. My wife and I have been married for more than 56 years. We celebrated our Golden Anniversary in April 2010.
My wife and I are both lifelong Catholics and registered Republicans.

About this blog

Defending the Constitution.

Our country was created as a Constitutional Republic, a nation of laws, held together by the fabric of the Constitution. The Constitution limits the powers of the government while the first ten amendments, called The Bill of Rights, guarantee the rights of We The People.Defending the Republic.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,—That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” —The Declaration of Independence—July 4th, 1776.

Bill of Rights

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.